Does anybody have some ideas to bring in additional income to a farm in Maine?
Image by Vietnam Plants & America plants
Chụp hình ở thị xã Gò Công, thuộc tỉnh Tiền Giang, miền Nam Vietnam.
Taken in Gò Công little town, Tiền Giang province, South Vietnam.
Vietnamese named : Dã Quỳ, Cúc Quỳ, Sơn Quỳ, Quỳ dại, Hướng Dương dại, Hướng Dương Mexico, Cúc Nitobe .
English names : Shrub flower, Mexican Tournesol, Mexican Sunflower or Nitobe Chrysanthemum, Wild Sun Flower.
Scientist name : Tithonia diversifolia ( Hemst. ) A. Gray
Synonyms :
Family : Asteraceae ( Compositae ). Họ Cúc ( Họ Hướng Dương )
Searched from :
**** WIKI
vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A3_qu%E1%BB%B3
Dã quỳ, cúc quỳ, sơn quỳ, quỳ dại, hướng dương dại, hướng dương Mexico, cúc Nitobe (danh pháp khoa học: Tithonia diversifolia) là một loài thực vật trong họ Cúc (Asteraceae), hiện nay phân bổ rộng khắp trong các khu vực cận nhiệt đới và nhiệt đới, chẳng hạn như Trung Mỹ, Đông Nam Á và châu Phi. Phụ thuộc vào khu vực, nó có thể là cây một năm hay cây lâu năm, dạng cây bụi cao tới 2-3 m với thân cây mọc thẳng và đôi khi hóa gỗ. Hoa màu vàng cam. Nói chung người ta công nhận rằng nó ở một giai đoạn nào đó là cây bản địa của khu vực Trung Mỹ hoặc Mexico, vì thế mà có tên gọi hướng dương Mexico.
Biểu tượng và sử dụng
Tại Nhật Bản, vào cuối thời kỳ Minh Trị, loài cây này được nhập khẩu như là cây cảnh mặc dù nó đã từng được trồng tại đây, dù rất ít. Có vị đắng đặc trưng, nó được sử dụng để gây sốt nhằm chống lại ngộ độc, mặc dù không được sử dụng cho các mục đích y học trực tiếp. Người ta cho rằng loài này được Nitobe Inazo đưa vào Nhật Bản, vì thế mà có tên gọi trong tiếng Nhật là cúc Nitobe (ニトベギク; Nitobegiku).
Tại Mexico, nó được sử dụng để chữa bong gân, gãy xương, các vết thâm tím và các vết giập.
Tại miền nam Trung Quốc nó được sử dụng để chữa trị một số bệnh đường da (như bệnh nấm bàn chân), ra mồ hôi trộm ban đêm, cũng như trong vai trò của thuốc lợi tiểu, thuốc nhuận gan, thuốc chữa bệnh vàng da và viêm bàng quang.
Dã quỳ được bán tại thị trường thuốc thảo mộc ở Đài Loan như một loại trà để cải thiện chức năng gan.
Nó là biểu tượng của tỉnh Mae Hong Son, Thái Lan.
Tại Việt Nam, dã quỳ đã được người Pháp đưa vào các đồn điền ở Lâm Đồng. Nó được trồng khi đó để làm phân xanh cho các vườn cà phê, cao su. Thân dã quỳ chứa nhiều chất P, Ca, Mg nên làm phân hữu cơ khá tốt. Nhờ hạt dễ phát tán, cây dễ trồng nhờ giâm cành nên loài cây này dần dà chiếm lĩnh các nơi hoang dại ở khắp Tây nguyên. Tên dã quỳ xuất hiện trên văn chương từ thập niên 1970, trước đó người ta gọi nó là sơn quỳ. Dã quỳ cũng đã được sử dụng làm biểu tượng chính cho lễ hội hoa Đà Lạt tháng 12 năm 2005.
Ở Việt Nam, dã quỳ thường ra hoa vào mùa đông, vàng rực cả triền đồi và thảo nguyên. Loài cây này có thể coi như là một loài cây báo hiệu cho sự xuất hiện của mùa khô, khi hoa dã quỳ nở có nghĩa là mùa khô đã đến rất gần. Lá của cây này còn sử dụng trong một bài thuốc dân gian để chữa bệnh ghẻ.
**** CHO THUOC 24H.COM
chothuoc24h.com/caythuoc/?ctid=H&ccthuoc=1105&H%C…
Hướng dương dại, Sơn quỳ – Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl). A Gray, thuộc họ Cúc – Asteraceae.
Mô tả: Cây bụi hằng năm cao 2-5m, thân có lông sát, phân cành nhiều. Lá thuôn, phiến có thuỳ, mép có răng nằm. Hoa đầu ở ngọn trên cuống dài, có mùi thơm, lá bắc hai hàng cao đến 2cm; hoa ở mép hình môi màu vàng tươi, lép; hoa ở giữa hình ống; giữa hoa có vẩy cao 1cm. Quả bế có hai răng.
Hoa tháng 12-2 quả 1-2
Bộ phận dùng: Lá – Folium Tithoniae Diversifoliae.
Nơi sống và thu hái: Loài cây của nhiệt đới châu Mỹ, được nhập trồng nay mọc hoang dại ở nhiều nơi, nhất là dọc đường đi, bãi hoang, phổ biến từ đồng bằng cho tới vùng núi.
Công dụng, chỉ định và phối hợp: Thường được trồng làm cây phân xanh. Người ta cũng dùng lá đắng xát trị ghẻ.
___________________________________________________________
**** PHILIPPINE MEDICINAL PLANTS
www.stuartxchange.org/WildSunflower.html
Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray
SHRUB SUNFLOWER
Wang ye kui
Gen info
Genus name derives from the Greek god Tithonus, a favorite of Aurora, goddess of dawn.
Botany
Small to medium-sized annual shrub with rather stout, almost glabrous branches. Leaves are alternate, petioled, membranaceous, ovate to orbicular, entire or 3- to 5-lobed, with toothed margins.
Distribution
Introduced to the Philippines as an ornamental.
Has escaped cultivation to become a weed in waste places.
Constituents
– Leaf oil showed an abundance of a-pinene (32.9%), b-caryophyllene (20.8%), germacrene D (12.6%), b-pinene (10.9%), and 1,8-cineole (9.1%).
– Flower oil yielded germacrene D (20.3%), b-caryophyllene (20.1%) and bicyclogermacrene (8%).
Properties
Properties
Parts used
Parts used.
Uses
Folkloric
No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
In Central America, leaf extracts are used externally for the treatment of wounds and hematomas.
Others
Others
Studies
• Analgesic / Anti-Inflammatory: Study of methanol extract of dried leaves of TD produced dose-related inhibition of carrageenan-induced paw edema and cotton pellet-induced granuloma in rats. The analgesic effect was observed with hot plate latency assays. Results confrim the traditional use of TD for the treatment of painful inflammatory conditions.
• Toxicity Studies: (1) Study of a 70% methanol extract showed a dose- and time-dependent toxic effect. Used in mice to reduce parasitemia with Plasmodium, the observed kidney and liver toxcity at the lowest dose tested, although reversible, raises concern over the safety of the use of the plant extract against malaria. (2) Study resulsts on the aqueous extracts of TD leaves suggest it may have adverse effects on the functions of the liver, heart and kidney.
• Sesquiterpene Lactones / Anti-Inflammatory / Antibacterial: The main sesquiterpene lactones of species growing in Costa Rica – diversifolin, diversifolin methyl ester and tirotundin – were studied for their anti-inflammatory activity. Results showed inhibitory activity of the 3 compounds, attributed to aklation of cysteine residues. Diversifolin was also found to have antibacterial activity, moderately active against B subtilis.
• Antimicrobial: Chemical analysis of the leaf of Tithonia yielded sesquiterpene lactones, e.g. Tagitinin which possess insecticidal properties. Study showed it possessed antimicrobial activity, active against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, with activity against S aureus, E coli and P aeruginosa, suggesting they can be used in treating gastrointestinal infections, skin diseases and urinary tract infections in man.
• Anti-Diabetic: Study on an 80% ethanol extract of TD showed reduction of blood glucose in KK-ay mice 3 weeks after a single oral dose, also significantly lowering plasma insulin, decreasing blood glucose in an insulin tolerance test. Results suggest it may be useful for the treatment of type2 diabetes.
• Potential Cancer Chemopreventive: Study isolated three new sesquiterpenoids – 2a-hydroxytirotundin, tithofolinolide, and 3a-acetoxy-8b-isobutyryloxyreynosin along with 8 known sesquiterpene lactones. Among the isolates, 2 compounds showed significant antiproliferative activity, 3 compounds induced HL-60 cellular differentiation, one significantly inhibited lesion formation in the mouse mammary organ culture assay.
• Antimicrobial / Germacranolide-type Sesquiterpene Lactone: Results indicate the non-polar leaf extract of T diversifolia could be useful in the treatment of some disease conditions and the sesquiterpene lactone is a potential candidate as a phytotherapeutic agent against some bacterial infections.
• Anti-Inflammatory / Hepatoprotective: Results indicate the treatment with a water extract of the aerial part of T diversifolia decreased paw edema induced by carrageenan, with reduction of the elevated liver enzymes, with improvement in the pathologic hepatic changes caused by carbon tetrachloride.
• Anti-Malarial / Repellant: The aqueous and methanolic extracts had 50% and 74% clearing of parasites respectively, compared to 100% for chloroquine, more effecgtive when administered at the onset of infection, suggesting a time-dependency of the anti-malarial effects. On mosquitocidal repellency, although the volatile oil extract showed higher repellent effect on Anapholes gambiae, its repellant and protective effects on all the other species of mosquito can not be underestimated.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
**** FLORIDATA
www.floridata.com/ref/t/tith_div.cfm
Description
Bolivian sunflower is the towering big brother of the popular Mexican sunflower (T. rotundifolia Easily reaching up to 16 ft (5 m) tall and more than 12 ft (3.6 m) across, this sunflower makes a commanding statement. Bolivian sunflower has many branches and large coarse and hairy leaves that are oblong with marginal lobes and up to 14 in (35 cm) long. Bolivian sunflower grows fast and large during the spring and summer, then in autumn and winter it covers itself with hundreds of yellow-orange sunflowers, 3-6 in (7.5-15 cm) across. Each composite flower has 11-13 ray florets and 200-300 disc florets. All can give rise to seeds. The flowers smell like honey and are attractive to bees and butterflies. The seeds are small and can ride on the wind for several meters.
Location
Tithonia diversifolia occurs naturally in Mexico and Central America. It has escaped cultivation and become established in tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, including South Florida.
Culture
Light: Sunflowers need full sun.
Moisture: Although Bolivian sunflower does best in hot, dry climates and well drained soils, it still needs plenty of water.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 9-11. Light frosts and freezes will kill Bolivian sunflowers to the ground, but if the damage isn’t too bad, they come back in spring. Some people have had success with this tropical in Zone 8. In frost free climates, this sunflower can achieve the proportions of a small house.
Propagation: The easiest way to start a new Bolivian sunflower is just to take a piece of stem, say 10 in (25 cm) long and an inch (2.5 cm) or so in diameter, and stick it in the ground. Don’t water too much, and it should start producing roots and new leaves in a few days. You can also plant the seeds as soon as they ripen.
Usage
Bolivian sunflower is an imposing shrub and is best suited to the larger landscape. It is a big, rangy plant and not inclined to be neat and tidy. Several of these fast growing biggies will make a great screen, and make it fast. Sometimes branches break off and may take root where they lie on the ground, thus speeding the development of the screen. Alternatively, place a Bolivian sunflower in back of the shrub border or all alone as a single specimen. When in bloom, Bolivian sunflower draws attention to itself. Dead-heading is recommended to prolong the flowering season, but you may need a bucket truck to reach the higher flowers. You can prune Bolivian sunflower back hard after blooming to keep it from overtaking the neighborhood.
Bolivian sunflower has various medicinal uses among herbalists in tropical America, southern Asia and Africa. It currently is being investigated for anti-malarial properties.
Features
Unfortunately, I can’t grow Bolivian sunflower in my yard because the squirrels and the deer eat them to the ground. The white-tailed deer eat the leaves, and the gray squirrels eat the stems. Even pieces of stem that I tried to start in nursery pots and hid behind the greenhouse were discovered and eaten by the squirrels. Researching this article, I learned that Tithonia diversifolia leaves and stems are particularly high in nutrients (especially N, P and K) and are used as fertilizer in tropical regions. I guess the squirrels already knew that.
WARNING
In frost free areas Bolivian sunflower can spread and become an invasive nuisance. The species is still relatively new to North American gardeners and it has not yet been placed on Florida’s invasive plant list. However, Bolivian sunflower has established in many areas of South Florida and reports are coming in that it is causing damage to native plants.
Question by Gone Riding HPTS: Does anybody have some ideas to bring in additional income to a farm in Maine?
Such as:
Fruit/vegetables to grow
Recreational ideas
Horse related activities
Feel free to answer in the comment section below
8 Responses to Does anybody have some ideas to bring in additional income to a farm in Maine?
Leave a Reply
durring the summer or fall have a hay ride and camp out or barbeq and like chardge admission of 2$
stickyricky8
January 30, 2013 at 5:36 am
carbon sequestration. seriously, get ahead of the curve……
http://nfu.org/issues/environment/carbon-credits
or wind power. those big turbines dont bother the stock at all, i have seen cows right under them totally oblivious to the blades turning over them.
http://www.mainerural.org/energy/fieldguide/technicalresources
littlerobbergirl
January 30, 2013 at 6:15 am
Start your own pumpkin patch. Include fun family style activities.
You could also start your own orchard, but it would take longer to see any profit…the plants and/or trees would require more care as well.
Ritzy Ranchers Wife
January 30, 2013 at 7:02 am
convert an old shed into a chicken coup.. fence the area and have gate.. after about 1 week you can let them out in your yard durring the day but put them inside the coop and shut the gate at night because of predators..
sell free range eggs – they will also be some for you…
PLUS the hens will eat bugs from your yard
here is a link telling you why free range eggs are healthier
http://www.socyberty.com/Activism/A-Case-for-Free-Range-Eggs.209753
bewarned about horse related activities -sometimes the insurance costs are HUGE!!!
CF_
January 30, 2013 at 7:29 am
Not sure where you live but if you’ve ever heard of pumpkin land , they’ve got the right idea.
Pumpkins, and haunted hayrides are big money makers.
Hop on the blueberry wagon. This state makes 80% of the nations crops . People love them because they are healthy and high in antioxidents. If you had pick your own blueberries that would be a big money maker. Those are hard pressed to find around here and tons of tourists always ask where to find places like these.
People love sending their kids to summer camp in Maine. Start a farm camp to educate children . This is a growing trend in farms . Teach kids how to take care of horses, saddle , brush , ride etc.
Charge for horse rides
Pick your own strawberries are big too Maxwells in Scarborough is a nice example
earthprincess666
January 30, 2013 at 8:22 am
Without knowing the resources and land and indeed the people, that’s very hard to say.
For instance if there’s a bunch of sugar maples on the farm, do maple syrup. If along a well traveled road, you can do retail sales. If you have wild turkeys, maybe hunting can be a supplemental income.
You need to do an inventory, what’s there, what’s available, what’s being underutilized. And the most important inventory is the people, what are they capable of doing.
It’s very possible the best thing might be for one or both to get off farm income.
Marv
BigNorsk
January 30, 2013 at 9:13 am
What KIND of farm is it? What does it already produce? What kind of customers are you already attracting, or selling too?
A small farm should have things that flow into one another, and become self sustaining.
Example:
My meat rabbits are raised in my orchard. The rabbits of course produce manure, drop food through their hutch bottoms, and atract flies.
The chickens that free range in the orchard climb the fruit trees and keep them bug free. They go under the rabbit hutches, and eat the fallen food, and scatter the rabbit manure. They also eat the fly maggots, and keep fly problems down for the rabbits. The chickens will also eat any mice that might be attracted to rabbit hutches in search of free food.
Around one hutch is a wood box, to prevent the chickens from scattering the manure. Worms live in abundance in the rabbit manure. That worm rich manure is spread on our garen areas where we grow our food.
The worms could also be sold to fishermen if I choose.
My customers who purchase the meat rabbits are from Central African countries. They eat a lot of corn, beans, mellons, and squash. So the extra my garden produces can be sold to them when they show up to purchase meat rabbits.
Extra vegtables, vines, stalks, and such from the garden can also be fed back to the rabbits, and chickens, which in turn produce more manure to fertilize further gardens.
See how everything flows neatly into the next farming venture? THAT is the way to have a truely productive farm. It also means you are not dependent on any one item to bring in all the money for the farm.
If you have a picture perfect farm, you can concider renting it out for family reunions, company picnics, and weddings. I cannot stress this next bit enough…before you even think about doing that, CHECK YOUR INSURANCE. Your current policy will not cover those things.
Horse related activities are a bad idea. You will not make enough money, and the insurance premiums will kill any profit. Insurance companies rank horses to be just as dangerous as a pit bull, or rottie.
How do I know? We own a small permaculture farm. I own 8 horses. The horses jack the insurance policy up, because I allow customers to come on farm. The customers are never even allowed near the horses, not even to pet them over the fence. But just having them on the same farm raises ones rates.
Grow local things that are prized in your area. In main, berries (especially blueberries), and potatoes are quiet prized. You cannot go wrong with mushrooms. Grow pumpkins, and corn stalks to sell in the autumn. Produce orchard mason bees to sell to other farmers in the very early spring.
Produce dried flowers, especially if you are near a tourist area.
~Garnet
Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years
Bohemian_Garnet_Permaculturalist
January 30, 2013 at 10:10 am
Nothing you do will work without good marketing. If you don’t have a farm website create one ASAP. Also along the same lines, create an email list of potential customers.
Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries etc are all good money makers and they start producing in one to two years of planting. Apples, pears, cherries and other fruit trees are also good money makers but take longer to produce (about 5 years) and, in the case of apples, take a lot of maintenance to get clean fruit
You can give riding lessons or trail rides but you will have to have a lot of liability insurance to do so and that may take all of your profit. I would not do any equine activities without being well covered because horses are dangerous and it is not a matter if anyone gets hurt/injured but a matter of when this will happen and when it does you will be sued. Good coverage will save you in a law suit.
You can do a market garden and sell produce via a CSA or at a couple of farmers markets. This is how I make my living
You should check out http://www.growingformarket.com and I strongly suggest you subscribe to the magazine as it is the best publication by and for small farmers in the world. You will get several money making and saving ideas from every issue you read.
You should hook up with MOGFA (Maine organic gardening and farming Association) They are there to help small Maine farmers (and you do not have to be organic, though you should be open to the idea) http://www.mogfa.org.
I have friends up your way who make wreathes for Christmas sales from the local evergreen trees and do well with that.
Sell aged horse manure to local gardeners (hook up with a couple of local gardening clubs)
Check out local harvest and put up a free listing of your farm at that site (and check out their forum, active and you will get great ideas from the farmers there) http//www.localharvest.org
ohiorganic
January 30, 2013 at 10:26 am